A Short Overview of Ebola Outbreak

Saeidi, Masumeh; Taghizadeh Moghadam, Habibolah; Kiani, Mohammad Ali; Noras, Mohammadreza; Rahban, Majid; Hoseini, Bibi Leila

doi:10.22038/ijp.2014.3372

A Short Overview of Ebola Outbreak

Authors

¹ Students Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

² Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

³ PhD Student, Students Research Committee, Faculty of Traditional Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

⁴ Nursing and midwifery School, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

⁵ Midwifery MSc, Midwifery Department, Nursing and midwifery School, Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Sabzevar, Iran.

10.22038/ijp.2014.3372

Abstract

Ebola virus disease (formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever) is a severe, often fatal illness, with a death rate of up to 90%. The illness affects humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees). Ebola first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, one in a village near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the other in a remote area of Sudan.
The origin of the virus is unknown but fruit bats (Pteropodidae) are considered the likely host of the Ebola virus, based on available evidence. In the current outbreak in West Africa, the majority of cases in humans have occurred as a result of human-to-human transmission. Infection occurs from direct contact through broken skin or mucous membranes with the blood, or other bodily fluids or secretions (stool, urine, saliva, semen) of infected people.

Keywords

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